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Have you attended Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom in the past? If so would you recommend this event to others? What about the Halloween party did you find enjoyable? Any tips you can suggest for people to get the most out of Mickey's Halloween Party?

Answers posted to the list:

We have been twice now, and plan to go again on our upcoming trip, so I guess you could say we enjoy it!

Fun things...
- Seeing MK all decked out for Halloween. If you've been to the park many times, its like seeing it again for the first time when its decorated differently!
- Seeing the characters dressed up in their Halloween costumes. We have a Pooh lover, and she especially likes seeing the characters in costume - makes them that much more real, LOL.
- Hearing the Haunted Mansion music in the background everywhere you go. Puts some tune other than It's A Small World permanently in your head!
- The fireworks. Now that the Wishes fireworks have taken over, the Halloween fireworks are nicely reminiscent of the show MK used to have.
- The parade. Another not-your-normal-everyday event.
- The trick-or-treating... We definitely end up with plenty of candy to nibble on for the rest of the trip!
- Our kids (5 and 7 the first time, 6 and 8 the second) have always gotten a blast about being allowed to stay up until midnight! I don't think they've ever truly made it, but they do have fun trying...

Tips...
- Arrive early. The party doesn't officially start until 7 but they start letting guests in with their MNSSHP ticket around 6, and that time between 6 and 7 is pure heaven - virtually no lines on the rides, and not very busy walking around.
- Get rest beforehand. An afternoon nap (or rest/down time, at the very least) is
- Take it easy the next day. It is a late night, and if you have young kids like we do they probably won't sleep in the day after, so we try and plan something that doesn't have to last all day long. Our typical thing is to go to a water park around 10:30, leave around 2:30/3, early dinner, then bed.
- Wear a costume. The kids have always gone in costume - they have fun. The second year, I also went in costume (Jedi) and it was more fun for me - the CMs notice and usually have something fun to say.

Jeff

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I've been 4 times in the last 6 years. I absolutely LOVE it. And would recommend it. I love seeing MK decked out in holiday decorations. And of course Disney just really does awesome decorations. Seeing the characters in their Halloween costumes. Trick or Treating for candy.
The fireworks show is great. For me though the best part it the parade, the headless horseman is not to be missed. It is so cool sounding hearing the horse's hooves echoing down Main Street.

Arrive early. The party doesn't officially start until 7 but you can
enter the park early with your MNSSHP ticket. I think it is after 4
or 5 that you can enter. If you can get one, make a PS for LTT or CP. The characters are in their Halloween costumes for this. And it is alot of fun.Take a break during the afternoon. Just rest - nap or down time.
Wear a costume. I'm an adult and I go by myself. Sometimes I do a costume and sometimes I don't. I seem to have more fun when I'm in a costume.

Pam

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MNSSHP is great! I would definately recommend it to anyone. My wife and I went a few years ago and had a ball. We are going again this year with my 2 1/2 year old son.

The thing I like most about it is they only sell a certain amount of tickets each night so it's never too crowded. When we went, there was hardly any wait for any of the rides and alot of times they would ask if we wanted to ride a second time without getting off the ride. Unlike an E Ticket night, almost everything is open.

Another thing I like is seeing the Magic Kingdom done up for Halloween. They do a great job decorating. The castle is lit up with purple lighting and looks spooky. The parade is awesome too. The characters are dressed in costume. It wasn't mobbed with people trying to get a good spot.

We bought our tickets in advance this year because I've heard it's gotten popular over the years and we didn't want to get shut out.

Pirates Of the Caribbean

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Arrive early stay late and plan to see all the events and trick or treat, make doing rides secondary!

Dennis

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We went last year and there was many adults dressed up most Disney some not. My husband (age 33) and I (age 32) were Woody and Jessie our son was Buzz (age 5) and our daughter (age 9) left the Toy Story theme and dressed as Pocahontas. We also took my parents (age 52 & 50) and my grandmother (age 68). They also dressed up. At first they threatened me that if we were the only adults dressed up I was dead. They even tried to back out at the last minute but when we out to the bus stop and other adults were dressed up then they started enjoying it and started playing their parts which were Captain Hook, Sally and Cruela DeVill. Dad loved the Pirate ride. The kids all thought he was part of the attraction and asked him questions about peter pan. It was funny. We got a picture of him next to the treasure chest. That's a great memory.

Crystal

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We did the party in 1997, when there were only two or three parties limited to right around Halloween night. It poured on that trip (our first) and we were soaked most of the time. The day of the party it rained harder than any other day and we were worried that we would be rained out. We had our two nieces with us and the five of us all had costumes for the party. Fortunately, the rain stopped just before the party started. We had a blast going trick or treating at the party. However, our son was only 4 at the time and he got tired out, so I took him back to the Polynesian to go to bed while my husband stayed with our two nieces. They got back about midnight. But we didn't see the Headless Horseman, so that's one of my main things that I'm doing on Oct 12 this year.

Deborah

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My friends and I have gone to the Halloween Party the last three years. We are all adults, ranging from 25-40 years old, but are all still kids at heart. We have all dressed up, planning costumes for a month before our trip. We have had so much fun there racing each other to the trick or treat stands, going on the rides and taking pictures with the characters. We have even gotten kids we have me involved with candy trading on the monorail as we made our way to our next destination, Pleasure Island. This is the first year that we were not able to schedule our "girls trip" during Oct so to everyone that is going to the party enjoy it for us!!!

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We did MNSSHP last year with my two (plus two grandparents). Nicholas was 3 at the time.

Nicholas had never had issues with dark, scary before - loves It's a Small World. However, he

came unglued when we entered MNSSHP. (Of course, it didn't help that after walking in, he

got lost in the "fog" and was separated from us for a few mintues due to the que for the strollers.)

Then within minutes of putting him in the stroller, he was sound asleep (due to the fact we'd

done early entry that morning). We were unable to awaken him, so he went around asleep in the stroller for a while until my parents felt pity and started to take him back to the hotel.

He was awakened by the noise of the parade going by and then enjoyed staying there. My

parents only made it back with him about 20 minutes before we returned with Madeline (then 6) after the fireworks.

They both enjoyed it, but not so much that we'll be doing it again this year. It was much more

crowded than we expected, and neither of our kids really got into the trick or treat element

(they both have a nut allergy, so we have to really watch their candy).

If your kids are really big on costumes and trick or treating, it would be great. Mine did really like seeing the characters in costume - thought the Pooh guys dressed up like different characters were especially great. They loved the parade too, and they've almost worn out tape out watching it over and over.

However, it just made for too long of a day for us. We'll probably do it again when they getolder, just not this year.

D'Ann

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